President

About Carla

What a beautiful day! I finally got my ponds opened this week. I thought it would never happen. Now if I can just get a few days off I can clean up the yard and gardens. I’d like to thank the Home Show team (Albert, Charlie, Frank and Jessica) on a fantastic job getting everything set up and presenting a great program. I need to thank all of you for allowing the team into your homes. The trip to Moores Water Gardens in Port Stanley is still a go for Sunday June 2. We will be driving out making a few stops on the way back. I believe it’s called a Shop Hop. I’m in the process of planning the day. Sure hope you can join in. More info at the meeting. Our presentation in May is on importing and Canadian regulations and how they apply to us fish hobbyists. June is Pond month. It’s not to late to send me pictures.

Hamilton and District Aquarium Society is pleased to announce that Mark Denaro will be our Guest Dinner Speaker on Saturday November 16th at the Waterdown Legion. He will be presenting 2 programs. Hope you can join us. For more information please check the dinner speaker feature on the website.

I’m not sure that it will ever stop with the snow. Again this afternoon snow flakes. It’s time to let the sun shine and have birds, squirrels, rabbits and little fish have some fun. I’m still looking for pond pictures for my June presentation. A great big thank you to all of you that helped with the Spring Auction and Show. There were over 160 entries in the show. Fantastic. Many members of our club helped with the auction. many members from neighbouring clubs helped as well. We can’t do it without you. Thank you to John Rampu for your presentation on Peru. Very nice! Our presentation this’d nth is the Home Show. This is always a great presentation. We get a chance to visit with our members and see what they have done with their tanks. I’m always envious of how beautiful the ranks look. I wish my plants would grow like some of yours.

John has been in the Aquarium Hobby for over 45 years , He is a member of several Aquarium clubs and has been a founding member of The Canadian Killifish Association, A senior Judge in the American Killifish Association and currently the Organizer of SOKS, Southern Ontario Killifish Association..

John currently keeps killies and Lake Tanganyika Cichlids and several strains of Peacock Cichlids with numerous wild type livebearers. Currently he has 38 tanks in his fishroom.

John’s main interest has always been South and Central American fish, He has collected fish in Peru and Uruguay, on two different trips. I have a program on both these trips which cover a wide subject matter since many fish can be found in these countries.

My talks consists of Collecting in Peru, the country, the Fish and the culture.

I sure hope spring is around the corner. What I do know is that there are many spring auctions approaching quickly. Our spring auction and show is on Saturday March 23 at the Waterdown Legion. Please bring your fish to Show. It’s only $2 per entry and after you enter 10 items its only $1. It’s a money show so you could win $. The more entries, the more $ for you. As always we are looking for help with the auction. It takes many helping hands to make an auction work. Come help support your club. Prizes to be won for volunteers. I’d like to thank Adrian Haigh for his presentation on the ball pythons. It was very informative. I loved all the different variations. Our presenter for March is John Van Rompu. He will speaking to us about his recent collecting trip in Peru. April is the ever popular Home Show. Is your tank ready? I can still use any pond pictures you have for my presentation in June. Don’t delay! Send them to me today. Just a reminder to join us on Facebook. Also the website and forum are available to all. The forum is a great place to gain or supply knowledge. I hope to see you at the meeting on March 14.

SHOW RULES
1. $2.00 per entry for the first ten entries and $1.00 for each additional entry over ten. The first entry for every Junior registrant (16 years or younger) is free.
2. Provisions will be made for the well being of fish, however HAMILTON AND DISTRICT AQUARlUM SOCIETY accepts no responsibility for losses or damage sustained during the show.
3. All entries will be under the jurisdiction of the show chairman until tear down (approx. 5 pm.) and may not be removed from the show until conclusion of the auction, unless authorized by the show chairperson.
4. HAMILTON AND DISTRICT Aquarium Society will provide the main air supply.
5. Entrants will provide their own tank, air stone and valve. No open ended air lines will be allowed.
6. Tanks must have a cover that can be removed for judging.
7. Anyone is eligible to enter. You need not be a member of a fish club.
8. No entry may be entered in more than one class.
9. Fish which display any disease or deformity may be disqualified.
10. The show will be judged by C.A.O.A.C. certified judges and/or apprentice judges. Their decisions will be final and not subject to appeal at the show. If in their opinion the entries in a class do not come up to show standards, a non-contest may be called. If there are only two entries that are satisfactory then any combination of 1st, 2nd and 3rd may be awarded.
11. In any case of dispute the show chairperson’s decision will be final and binding.
12. Family classes: each entry will consist of one spawning pair and at least 10 young from the pair, under three months old. Tank dividers and pots may be used if necessary
13. No snails or ornaments, etc. may be present in a tank (excepting invertebrate class and novelty class).
14. It is the responsibility of the entrants to make sure their fish are in the correct class. The show chairperson will help upon request.
15. No aerosol sprays or mist type cleaners will be permitted in the show area.
16. All accessories and equipment (i.e. pails, nets, etc.) must be kept out of sight.
17. All show fish to be auctioned after the show must be labeled as such by the owner and registered prior to the show. lt is also the responsibility of the owner to bag the fish for auction after the awards presentation has taken place.
18. No Coloured water will be allowed.
19. No moving other peoples show tanks without the approval of the show person first.
20. Junior class is any variety of fish owned and kept by someone 16 years of age or younger.
21. Photography prints must not be larger than 81/2”X11” and must have been taken by the entrant in the past 12 months.
22. People’s Choice will be decided by the votes of those attending the show. Each person entering the show room will be asked to sign in and will receive a ballot at that time.
23. Registration will open at 8:00 a.m. and all fish must be registered by 9:30 a.m. All entries must be benched by 10:30 a.m. NO LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER 9:30 AND THE SHOW ROOM WILL BE CLOSED AT 10:30 FOR JUDGING
24. There will be cash prizes and certificates for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each of the 31 classes. There will also be permanent awards for Best of Show, People’s Choice, High Aggregate, Best Egglayer and Best Livebearer

Not too big, not too small, non venomous, a gentle disposition, and with the limitless colors and patterns being produced each year, it’s almost overwhelming trying to imagine what the diverse variations will be developed into.

We have been keeping Reptlies for over a decade now, and the Ball Python phenomenon has grown into a thriving industry.

Join me on the 14th of February for a Q & A on these fascinating snakes.

Happy New Years and welcome to a new year at the HDAS club. The new team and some old are all ready to provide you with a great fish experience. We hope to keep you informed and provide you with knowledge about keeping your fish and perhaps experimenting with something new. If you have any requests please let Larry Johnson know. He has volunteered to help put programs together for us. Thank you Joe B for all your help with this job over the many years. Joe isn’t going anywhere, he is still offering his expertise, just in other ways. Our spring auction and show is quickly approaching. Please mark Saturday March 23 on your calendar of events not to be missed. As always, we will be needing lots of help. It takes many sets of hands to make our auction a success. Please let me know if you can help.
Those of you that came out to the Christmas dinner at the Red Maple I’m sure enjoyed a great night. The food was good and the company was fantastic. The weather was treating us a bit like winter but thats the season.
Do you have any pictures you would like to share with me on your pond. Please send them to me at your earliest convenience. I’m trying to put together a pond program. Your pictures can be anything, any season, construction, flourishing etc. Just send them. Thanks. I already received a few and thank you very much.
I look forward to seeing everyone at the meeting on Thurs Jan 10.

Hi Everyone
Our food drive and fishy table event for Neighbour to Neighbour was very successful. Thank you all. Everyone is welcome to meet at the Red Maple on Thurs Dec 20 @ 6:30pm for a buffet dinner. It’s at Upper Middle and Appleby Line.